Astros play the Twins in first of 3-game series

Minnesota Twins (27-26, first in the AL Central) vs. Houston Astros (31-21, second in the AL West)

Houston; Monday, 4:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Sonny Gray (4-0, 1.82 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 66 strikeouts); Astros: J.P. France (1-1, 3.43 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 18 strikeouts)

: Astros -126, Twins +106; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros begin a three-game series at home against the Minnesota Twins on Monday.

Houston has a 14-11 record in home games and a 31-21 record overall. The Astros are 8-4 in games when they hit two or more home runs.

Minnesota is 27-26 overall and 11-14 in road games. The Twins have the eighth-ranked team on-base percentage in the AL at .312.

Monday's game is the fourth time these teams square off this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Yordan Alvarez leads the Astros with 14 home runs while slugging .612. Alex Bregman is 14-for-43 with three doubles, a home run and eight RBI over the last 10 games.

Byron Buxton has nine doubles, a triple and 10 home runs for the Twins. Willi Castro is 12-for-37 with two doubles, three home runs and five RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 8-2, .266 batting average, 2.66 ERA, outscored opponents by 23 runs

Twins: 3-7, .224 batting average, 3.93 ERA, outscored by four runs

INJURIES: Astros: Luis Garcia: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jose Urquidy: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Michael Brantley: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Lance McCullers Jr.: 15-Day IL (elbow)

Twins: Emilio Pagan: day-to-day (undisclosed), Trevor Larnach: 10-Day IL (pneumonia), Jorge Polanco: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Nick Gordon: 10-Day IL (shin), Jorge Alcala: 15-Day IL (forearm), Max Kepler: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Tyler Mahle: 60-Day IL (arm), Caleb Thielbar: 15-Day IL (oblique strain), Kenta Maeda: 15-Day IL (tricep), Gilberto Celestino: 60-Day IL (thumb), Royce Lewis: 60-Day IL (knee), Chris Paddack: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.